With Knicks, Nuggets Game 1 comebacks, is it time for NBA favorites to worry?

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Rockets fans, you’re going to want to sit this one out, but everybody else? You’ve got to check out my guy Marcus Thompson narrating this great video on the history of Steph Curry and the Warriors making Houston’s playoff experience a nightmare the last decade.

Bing Bong Back?

Knicks literally steal Game 1 in Boston

It was looking terrible for the Knicks in Game 1. The Celtics were all over them despite not even shooting 3-pointers all that well. With 5:47 left in the third quarter, Boston was up 75-55 at home, which is what most people expected these scores to look like in this series. The Celtics have overwhelmed the Knicks on the court all season long, and this series was supposed to be no different.

Then, the Knicks started chipping away a little bit. A 20-point deficit became nine at the end of the third. All of a sudden, OG Anunoby took the ball from Jayson Tatum with 7:29 left in the fourth, got an easy dunk and the game was tied at 86. Anunoby had 15 of the Knicks’ 31 points in a 31-11 run, and the Celtics weren’t really playing any kind of offense anymore. They were just chucking shots, hoping a make would knock out the confidence of the Knicks.

Jalen Brunson got hot and everybody else got cold for the Celtics. Brunson had 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics didn’t really have anybody step up to answer. Tatum looked like he was practicing step-back jumpers, as he went 0-of-7 — with five of those misses as 3-pointers in the fourth. We went to overtime.

The Knicks scored their last points in overtime with 1:47 left. The Celtics cut the lead to three with 1:16 left. And the rest of the game was missed shots and defense. No defensive play was bigger than the final possession of the game, when the Celtics went to Jaylen Brown for the game-tying attempt. There was one problem with that …

He didn’t even get a shot off! Mikal Bridges just took that from him! Like crazed parents ripping away Turbo Man dolls from each other in “Jingle All the Way.” The Knicks stole a road game victory against a team that dominated them all season. The Celtics had a rough one:

• Boston went 15-of-60 from 3. Yes, the Celtics missed 45 3-pointers.
• They shot 19-of-37 on 2-pointers. Maybe go inside a little more.
• The Celtics shot 23.1 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3 after going up 75-55.

Boston has to figure out if the Knicks exposed some real issues in this series or if its own carelessness was strictly the reason for the loss. The Celtics, especially Tatum, fell in love with bad jumpers in Game 1 and needed to reset by attacking the basket. Kristaps Porziņģis played just 13 minutes due to an illness, so hopefully he’s fine the rest of the way. Regardless, Boston gave the Knicks some confidence here, and that’s a dangerous idea.

The Last 24

Can Orlando, Houston get some points?

🏀 No offense! Houston and Orlando were young, defensive-minded teams. Unfortunately for them, not scoring was their undoing.  

🐺 Ant is here for it all. I wrote about Anthony Edwards coming for the legends and the glory of winning it all. He’s crossing off names. 

🗣️ Coach of the Year! Kenny Atkinson took home the hardware for best coach. He beat out J.B. Bickerstaff, the guy he replaced. 

🏀 Pass the torch. The Spurs officially named Mitch Johnson head coach. Gregg Popovich is now El Jefe. 

📲 The Bounce video! Twice a week, we’re putting the newsletter into a video! The Harden elimination-game experience was rough.

🎧 Tuning in. Today’s “NBA Daily” discusses whether the Thunder should fear the Nuggets’ momentum.

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Home-court Disadvantage

Nuggets rip Game 1 from Thunder’s grasp

If you’re a home team in the second round, watch out. Last night, the Nuggets surprised the world because of a heroic effort from none other than Nikola Jokić and a massive, game-winning shot by Aaron Gordon. All season long, the Thunder have blown teams out of the water and not found themselves in many tight games. So, this was a bit of unfamiliar territory for them when the Nuggets kept climbing back into the game and chipping away at the double-digit leads the Thunder kept building.

Jokić was phenomenal, despite foul trouble and seven turnovers on the night, on his way to 40 points, 22 rebounds and six assists. The numbers, although they don’t surprise you anymore, still blow your socks off. He’s one of four players in league history to have a 40-20-5 game in the playoffs, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo (44-20-6 in 2022), Shaquille O’Neal (44-20-5 in 2001) and Wilt Chamberlain (41-22-5 in 1967 and 42-37-5 in 1962).

The big moments of the game came down to two massive mistakes by the Thunder in the closing 12.2 seconds of the game. With a one-point lead and the ball, the Thunder were inbounding and looking to run some clock, get fouled and knock down some free throws. The Nuggets didn’t have Jokić in the game, despite not having any timeouts. They figured they’d get the foul and sub Jokić back in.

A defensive breakdown on the inbound play gave the Thunder a massive break. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got a free dunk as Denver couldn’t stop play. OKC was up by three with 10 seconds left, and Denver couldn’t get Jokić back in the game, but the Thunder got him back in. They went with the strategy of fouling up three because that’s what the manual says to do! Instead of trusting the league’s best defense to prevent a 3-point make and securing the rebound.

We played the free-throw game a couple times, and then, without any timeouts left, Chet Holmgren received an inbound pass with a one point lead and 9.1 seconds left. He was fouled but choked on both free-throw attempts. Denver got the rebound, Russell Westbrook pushed the ball up the floor and found Gordon on the left wing.

Bang! Denver takes Game 1, and OKC has all the pressure heading into Game 2. Speaking of …

Let’s rank the teams in trouble so far!

1. Thunder, down 0-1 to Denver: They rolled through the first round last year and then got snuffed out in the second round by Dallas. They don’t have playoff experience outside of that. Jokić and company do have title experience. There is now real pressure on OKC, and we have no idea how it will respond. Is this going to be a Nick Anderson moment for Holmgren? Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨🚨 for OKC.

2. Cavaliers, down 0-1 to Indiana: This Cleveland group has had a rough past couple years in the postseason, and Indiana is a very tough squad and matchup. But the Cavs should rebound in Game 2 and remind us of their success this season. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨🚨 for Cleveland.

3. Celtics, down 0-1 to New York: We know Boston’s best comes out in the postseason now, but this was certainly an eyebrow-raiser by Brunson and company. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨 for Boston.

4. Minnesota, hasn’t started against Golden State yet: At this rate, you almost expect the Wolves to drop Game 1 at home to the Warriors. It’s a copycat league! Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨 for Minnesota.

Winning Blueprint

Did Rockets’ 2-big plan show Wolves the way?

The Rockets may have lost their seven-game series to the Warriors on Sunday, but if the goal is to knock them out eventually, then maybe the Rockets helped the Warriors’ next opponent. As the Dubs enter the second round against the Timberwolves, they still have a very big problem to figure out: The size of the Wolves. You might remember Minnesota making the Lakers look even tinier in Game 5 when Rudy Gobert was doing an actual Shaquille O’Neal impression out there. (And we don’t mean Celtics Shaq!)

Now, the Wolves have to figure out if they can channel their successful size against the Lakers and what they saw the Rockets do against the Warriors to make a second straight Western Conference finals. Here’s what Houston was able to do with Alperen Şengün and Steven Adams in their 93 minutes on the court together:

Their offensive rating isn’t great, but the defensive rating is dominant. The net rating is beyond dominant. And the rebounding numbers are impressive. If they could have made shots with that lineup on the floor, we would have seen the Rockets advance. You see the difference in their numbers for the series overall, and how many rocket ship emojis showing just how big of a change it was, good or bad, for Houston.

How can the Wolves take advantage of this? It’ll depend on how well Julius Randle and Gobert are able to play right away. We know the Warriors are going to target Gobert, just like they do in the regular season and just like the Lakers tried to do in the first round. Gobert mostly held his own against the Lakers before his dominant Game 5. Randle has been playing the best basketball of his career for the last month and a half, and he was great against Los Angeles.

Together in the first round, they outscored the Lakers by 4.8 points per 100 possessions. They grabbed 37.3 percent of the offensive rebounds, but just 67.0 percent of the defensive rebounds. And the shooting on the floor wasn’t great. Where the Wolves saw better results was with Gobert and Naz Reid on the floor together and also Reid with Randle.

• Gobert/Reid: 40 mins | plus-14.8 net rating | 39.7 percent off. reb | 85.7 percent def. reb
• Randle/Reid: 83 mins | plus-7.6 net rating | 35.6 percent off. reb | 84.8 percent def. reb

Where the Rockets and Wolves differ the most in this potential advantage is everywhere else on the floor around the big men. Edwards is a weapon the Rockets couldn’t provide ever in that series. Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo are capable defenders who can also knock down shots and attack off the dribble. Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker give a lot on the perimeter and getting into the paint.

If Gobert, Randle and Reid can be effective in two-big pairs, then the Warriors will need the massive performances from Curry, Jimmy Butler and Buddy Hield in order to come out on top. If this strategy isn’t transferable for Minnesota, it’ll be on Edwards to be Superman again.

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(Top photo: David Butler II / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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